Hay Fever
by Slayergirl
Summary: What happens when someone starts taking new hay fever tablets? Fluff. Rated for the very very mildly suggestive blink-and-you'll-miss-it comment, but I'm paranoid.


**A/N: I've gone a bit OOC with Leo, I know. I hope he doesn't mind too much. The plot bunny made me do it!**

**Hay Fever**

"Nikki? Earth to Nikki!" Harry waved a hand in front of her face, but there was no response.

Leo's inner demon refused to shut up. "Only one thing for it, Prince Charming," he quipped, heading back to his own office.

"That," said Harry stonily in response, "Is a highly unprofessional, unscientific and unmedical solution, Professor Dalton!"

Leo popped his head back round the door. "Might just work, though," he said with an unsettling grin.

"She'd kill me."

"She might. Then again, she might not." Leo's head disappeared back into his office again, but he left the door ajar. Just in case he had to avert an attempted murder later on.

Harry regarded Nikki's glazed face. As far as he knew, she didn't have a history of epilepsy, catalepsy, or anything like that. He noticed the packet of pills on her desk, and, curious, picked them up. Prescription drugs, perfectly normal; she'd only taken the correct amount, as it was a new packet with today's date on it, and only the one pill had been popped out of the blister pack. Idly, he looked at the list of side effects, and pulled a face. _Well, that explains it, then. Trust Nikki to be one of the rare cases._ "Leo?"

"Mm?"

"It's her pills."

"What pills?" He read out the name, and Leo laughed. "It's her _hay fever_ medication? I've taken that for years, and it's never had that effect on me."

"Yep. Only rare cases."

"Would be Nikki," he commented, a hint of indulgent affection in his voice. "Snap her out of it, Harry; there's work to be done, and she can't finish her paperwork while she's semi-comatose."

"I seem to manage it," he muttered under his breath, but turned his attention back to Nikki. Shaking her hadn't helped. Clicking his fingers and waving in front of her face hadn't helped. He didn't happen to have a balloon or a paper bag to burst in the vicinity (_funny that,_ he thought, _you never have one when you need one_). With a little trepidation – there was no knowing what might happen – he brushed his lips very gently against hers.

To his relief, the response wasn't to slap his face, but a blink and a gentle sigh. "Sorry… did I zone out?" she mumbled.

"You could put it that way," he said dryly. "You might want to tell your doctor about the side effects your hay fever pills have, though."

She looked at the box that Harry had placed neatly back on her desk. "That's what made me zone out?"

"One of the rare side effects," he confirmed. "Leo's taken those pills for years with no problem."

"Oh. Well, thanks, anyway." She frowned, and he began to make his way back to his desk, a sense of foreboding coming over him. "Harry…?"

"Mm?"

"You kissed me," she accused suddenly.

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, not noticing that Leo was now standing in the doorway. "Wouldn't be the first time," he said, aiming for a nonchalant air.

"It wouldn't?" asked Leo mildly, looking on amused as Nikki flushed slightly. "Did I miss the memo on that one?" He remembered that there had been something going on a few years back, but had never been entirely sure what, if anything, had happened.

"Nothing ever came of it," said Harry hurriedly.

"And whose fault is that?" retorted Nikki tartly.

"Penny's, for turning up in a morgue," he replied calmly. "In case you'd forgotten."

She bit her lip, looking away. Leo decided it was time to intervene. "You know, the way you two bicker, anyone would think you're either a couple of kids who've never grown up, or you're already married." He took a swig of coffee. "Either deal with the fact that you're both clearly attracted to each other and are refusing to admit it, or bicker about it in your own time. It's like watching a soap opera every time I come to work, what with all the 'will-they-won't-they' tensions in the air. Get a grip, the pair of you, and sort yourselves out." Regarding their shocked, horrified faces, he relented a little. "You've got half an hour's coffee break to go and have a chat." When neither of them moved, too stunned to respond, he walked over to the main door, and gestured towards the corridor. "You, Harry. Take Nikki for coffee. Talk about your feelings for each other, the pair of you, and come back in half an hour. Got it?"

"Yes, Leo," said Harry, surprisingly meekly.

"Nikki?"

"Yes, Leo," she said hurriedly, a flush rising to her cheeks as she realised she'd have to have The Conversation – the one she'd been dreading – with Harry after all.

He shooed them down the corridor, shaking his head, smiling to himself, and set the timer on his phone. _Let's see how long this actually takes._

***

Harry stared into the depths of his coffee cup, stirring in the sugar. It had never seemed so fascinating before. "So…" he began.

Nikki bit her lip. "So…"

He glanced up, and found it reassuring that Nikki looked as nervous as he felt. "Well, this is awkward," he commented, attempting to lighten the atmosphere.

She gave a wan smile. "Just a little."

"We'd probably have to have had this conversation at some point."

"If either of us ever got around to saying anything," she agreed.

"Guess it just means the decision's been taken for us."

"Yeah."

"Not sure what there is left to say, after Leo's outburst."

She looked up at him, a hurt look on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's already said…"

"Said _what_? You're still avoiding the issue, Harry. You always do."

"And you don't?"

"You were the one who kissed me," she reminded him, "on both occasions. Don't you think it's fair I should know why?"

"You know why."

"But you've never actually _said_ it."

"You've never said why you responded," he countered. "Works both ways, Niks."

"Well, how about you start?" she said sweetly.

"You can be so annoying sometimes," he groused.

"That's why you love me," she grinned, beginning to think she might just have the upper hand.

He looked at her steadily for a moment, hazel eyes searching her brown ones. "You're right. It is. One of the reasons, anyway."

Nikki's mouth suddenly went dry, and for once, she couldn't find anything to say. It was just as well, because at that point, Harry cupped the side of her face, and dropped a soft, gentle kiss on her lips, lingering just long enough for the point to be made. "Do you want me to tell you some of the others, or shall we wait until later, when Uncle Leo isn't waiting back in the office, probably with an eye on the clock?" he murmured with a touch of humour, mouth still dangerously close to hers.

She blinked rapidly a couple of times, breathing shallow. "When you say 'later'…?"

"Dinner? Pick you up at seven?"

She gulped; if he insisted on murmuring in her ear as he was at the moment, he'd be lucky if she didn't jump him. She wondered if he knew that, and was doing it deliberately. "Seven," she confirmed, hands trembling round her coffee cup.

He sat back in his chair. "You still haven't told me how you feel," he pointed out.

"It wasn't obvious?" she smiled.

"Maybe. But you haven't _said_ it," he grinned. "And that, after all, was the deal."

"I hate it when you're right," she grumbled.

"No, you just hate admitting I'm right," he corrected. "It wounds your pride."

"It freaks me out that you know me as well as you do," she complained.

"Why? Got something to hide?"

"No, but…" she looked up, and smiled. "No. Not any more."

"Say it."

"No! Can't it wait until this evening?" she pleaded.

"Nope. Leo said we had to sort this out, and for once, I agree with him."

"But…"

"Is it so hard?" He rolled his eyes when she quirked an eyebrow meaningfully at him. "Is it really so _difficult_?" he amended.

"Well, it…" she sighed. "Shouldn't be. But it is."

He took one hand from her coffee cup, brushing his thumb over her knuckles before raising it to his lips. "Let's do this the easy way, shall we? Did you want me to kiss you?"

She flushed a little. "Yes."

"Did you like me kissing you?"

She swallowed uncomfortably. "Yes."

"Did you… want to be doing more than kissing?"

"Harry…"

"Did you?"

"Um. Yeah. Look…"

"You know, I really didn't think this would embarrass you," he commented.

"Neither did I," she admitted.

"Why does it? Has it ever embarrassed you before, talking about this kind of thing?"

"No, not really."

"Then why…?" he prompted

She was silent for a moment, then said quietly, "because it's you. And because it's you, it matters."

Fingertips traced gently over her cheek for a moment, and she looked up at him, noting the tenderness behind his smile. "I think that says what I wanted to hear," he murmured, leaning over to kiss her again. This time, it wasn't just a brush of lips on lips, but was still gentle and unhurried. He drew back after a little while, and smiled at her. "Finished your coffee?"

She drained the last few mouthfuls. "Yes."

"Come on, then. If we hurry, we'll make it back in the half hour." He offered her his arm, and, smiling she took it, feeling lighter and happier than she'd felt in years. As they reached their office, he turned to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and kissing her lightly. "Seven?"

She nodded, smiling. "Seven."

Each went and sat at their respective desk, smiling to themselves. Harry was even humming under his breath.

Leo came out, a smile lurking round the corners of his mouth. "Twenty-nine minutes and forty-eight seconds," he informed them. "Have you sorted things out?"

Nikki rewarded him with a beaming smile, but it was Harry who answered. "Yes, thanks."

"Am I to know the outcome of this?"

Harry grinned at him. "Dinner at seven."

Leo managed to stop his face from splitting into two. "Finally," he chuckled, returning to his office. He made a mental note to check which of them was wearing the same clothes the next day.


End file.
